That list includes Iran’s uranium enrichment plant at Natanz. Facilities at Isfahan, Arak and Bushehr are also on the target list, the sources say.

In other words, the Bushies think they can knock out Iran’s military capability with air strikes and naval bombardments rather than needing troops on the ground, just as many analysts predicted based on the movement of two carrier groups into the Gulf. This also means that stopping Iran from developing a nuclear weapon is just an excuse to start another war. If all they wanted to do was eliminate Iran’s potential nuclear capacity, they’d do what Bill Clinton did in similar circumstances and limit the bombing to taking out those facilitites. But they aren’t.

We also seem to have confirmation of the charges that the Bush Administration is trying to whip up some hysteria to justify a war it has already decided to start. According to the report, the US has identified two excuses “triggers” that would get the war ball rolling. Continue reading →

The round of US Attorney firings continues as USAG Alberto Gonzales punishes them for insufficient genuflection to the neocon agenda, only now, after criticism by Democrats and the press that no reasons had been given, so-far-unfired prosecutors are offering excuses, lame though they might be.

An eighth U.S. attorney announced her resignation yesterday, the latest in a wave of forced departures of federal prosecutors who have clashed with the Justice Department over the death penalty and other issues.

Margaret Chiara, the 63-year-old U.S. attorney in Grand Rapids, Mich., told her staff that she was leaving her post after more than five years, officials said. Sources familiar with the case confirmed that she was among a larger group of prosecutors who were first asked to resign Dec. 7. (emphasis added)

What “other issues”? The only reason Alberto ever gave was “performance issues”, whatever they are. That covers a lot of ground. Continue reading →

Kai at Zuky (link via Jon Swift, and thanks, Jon, for the recommendation) takes a look at the race talk surrounding Barack Obama’s candidacy and doesn’t much like what he sees.

White folks often complain that race is a rhetorical minefield which makes them nervous about saying the wrong thing. But for people of color, race is an actual minefield rife with physical dangers and obstacles and conflicts. As Chris Rock has said, “I ain’t afraid of Al Qaeda; I’m afraid of Al Crackuh.” Which is a cute line, but also deadly serious, because as the newspapers continue to remind us, racist hate crimes happen. This isn’t hypothetical or abstract; for instance, I myself had my life threatened a couple years ago by an NYPD officer who assured me that he might “shoot a fuckin’ chink and trust me, I can get away with it”. Ain’t that America. Excuse me if such experiences leave a foul feeling.

All of which is quite true, but his prescription for repairing the dichotomy is about three steps down the road.

If white folks are genuinely interested in discussing racism without worrying about saying anything that could be construed as racist, I have simple advice: Become an anti-racist. Study the issue, listen and learn, join the struggle to end racism and white supremacy. If you do that, I’m pretty sure that you’ll lose the nervousness about race talk.